1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to techniques for generating and presenting textual directions for traversing a path through a geographic region. In particular, and without limitation, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for providing improved techniques that generate textual directions based on positional information.
2. Background Information
Today, modules capable of receiving and capturing signals from a global positional position system (GPS) are incorporated into in many common electronic devices, including personal navigation systems, mobile telephones, smart phones, personal media players, watches, automotive navigation systems, laptop and notebook computers. In addition to conveying driving and/or walking directions to a user, these GPS-equipped devices can also receive and store GPS position data, such a latitude, longitude, and elevation, for future download and manipulation. For example, a bicyclist may use a GPS-equipped mobile telephone to record GPS position data throughout a scenic bicycle ride.
Further, electronic map displays are widely used to convey information about roads, traffic, buildings, landmarks, terrain, etc. related to a particular geographical region of interest. Because of their versatility, electronic map displays are incorporated in a variety of different computer systems and applications. For example, electronic map interfaces are available from variety of Internet resources for use by the public.
Such Internet-based electronic map displays often allow a user to upload and manipulate GPS position data after capture by a GPS-equipped personal electronic device. These resources can plot uploaded GPS data on corresponding street maps, topographical maps, and/or street images for viewing and subsequent transmittal to other users of GPS-equipped devices. For example, the bicyclist can upload recorded GPS data corresponding to the scenic ride, process that data, and share that data with others who use similar GPS-devices and are interested in path taken during the scenic ride.
However, there are drawbacks associated with these Internet-based resources. In particular, while these resources permit the display of stored GPS data on corresponding maps, these resources often lack a facility for directly translating uploaded GPS positional data into textual directions for traversing a corresponding path. As such, users of these resources may be limited in their ability to share information derived from uploaded GPS data with other interested parties.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods for automatically generating textual directions for traversing a route. Such systems and methods may be implemented in computer-based environments, such as the Internet and network environments that provide online content to users.